The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-04
BILL NYE To HEN. NYE.
No Charge for Good Advce-How to Make
Country Paper Actually Red Hot.


Country Paper Actually Red Hot.
Letter in Chicago News.
AsHEvILLE, n. c., March Is. 1887.
My Dear Son-1 wish you would please change
the address of my paper to this place, where
your mother and I now staying. l got the
Retina all right last week, and see that you are
goiI G to enlarge it, so / have sold my hay in
order to prepare for the event.
What is your idea for enlarging the paper be-
fore the town enlargesl Of course I am no
journalist, but have often thought that if had
been doomed to issue a paper like the Retina.
and then answer at the bar of judgment for it,
would not get power press till the town got
good dark blue hook-and-ladder company and
postoffice.
1 hope you will not try to issue daily paper,
anyhow. till we see how stock looks when grass
grows again.
l like your editorial on MARK Antony" first
rate. / can imagine how excited the people of
your town were when they saw the Retina on
Saturday morning, and read what your estimate
of Mark was
/ wish you would incidentally pick up few
others of those old people and weigh them. That
is one of the Injuries of. running a paper your
SELF You can speak right out and walk all
over these people. l would like to hear what
your honest convictions are In regard to
Diogenes 1t would be worth almost what
l have put into your paper silent partner
You can have no idea. Henry, how it swels
me up with pride and lofty dsdain to know that
while am sleeping calmly under my roof tree,
as heard man call it once, you are showing
up those old frauds like Julius Cesar, and Ham
let, and Portcullis, and Androncus, and Mrs.
Potiphar and other people who have become
historical
While other people are frittering away their
time talking about highway tax and boards of
health and all such stuff as that, you are max
ing red-hot paper of to-day; paper that fairly
bois over with your honest convictions about
the political aspect at the time that Caesar took
charge of the tribune: paper that shows the av-
ART thAr rOr
give them the kind of stuff they want or not
That was my idea when l sent you away to
that female seminary, or whatever it was, where
you went to get educated. ! wanted you to
come out with whole lot of thoughts that
showed right on their face that they we're ex-
pensive. wanted you to be able to tell down at
the store how much A, and G would each have
to grind off circular grindstone four feet three
and one-half inches in diameter, with square
hole in the center three and ope-fourth inches
each way, providing A pays one-sixth of the price
OF the stone one half and G the balance, with
the understanding that G shall use 5 per cent.
turn the grindstone. 1 wanted you
to be able to talk with foreigners
in their own native tongue the darkest night
that ever blew. I desired that you might be-
come q man who could walk up to Italian as
he plays his organ voluntary beneath your case
ment and tell him in his musical alarm
clock language what you think of him.
So it pleases me to know that YOU are prin ting
paper now, SO you can show off to advantage
what have invested in you.
Press right on. Keep writing up those over
estimated men like Moses, and l do not care
what you say provided you rise rapidly yourself,
even if you do upon the wreck and ruin of
such mon as Demosthenes and other people,
whom you will no doubt show up before you get
through.
hope you will lead up to Columbus and
Patrick Henry in time to get through with them
little ahead of the sheriff.
After awhile want to write little article for
your paper, not much for the purpose of say
ing anything, but in order to show the contrast
between the polished work of well-educated,
smart young and the crude efforts of o
plain man who is entirely untitled for every.
thing except paternal purposes BILL NYE.